The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. 
 
The 17 SDGs are: (1) No Poverty, (2) Zero Hunger, (3) Good Health and Well-being, (4) Quality Education, (5) Gender Equality, (6) Clean Water and Sanitation, (7) Affordable and Clean Energy, (8) Decent Work and Economic Growth, (9) Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, (10) Reducing Inequality, (11) Sustainable Cities and Communities, (12) Responsible Consumption and Production, (13) Climate Action, (14) Life Below Water, (15) Life On Land, (16) Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, (17) Partnerships for the Goals. 
 
See sdgs.un.org for more. 

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria are a set of standards for a company’s operations that socially conscious investors use to screen potential investments. Environmental criteria consider how a company performs as a steward of nature. Social criteria examine how it manages relationships with employees, suppliers, customers, and the communities where it operates. Governance deals with a company’s leadership, executive pay, audits, internal controls, and shareholder rights. 

ESG criteria are an increasingly popular way for investors to evaluate companies in which they might want to invest. Many mutual funds, brokerage firms, and robo-advisors now offer products that employ ESG criteria. Finally, ESG criteria can also help investors avoid companies that might pose a greater financial risk due to their environmental or other practices. 

Sustainable development is the idea that human societies must live and meet their needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The “official” definition of sustainable development was developed for the first time in the Brundtland Report in 1987. 
 
 

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an internationally standardised methodology that helps to quantify the environmental pressures related to goods and services (products), the environmental benefits, the trade-offs and areas for achieving improvements taking into account the full life-cycle of the product. 
 
Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) and Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) are consecutive parts of a Life Cycle Assessment, where: 

• Life Cycle Inventory is the collection and analysis of environmental interventions data (e.g. emissions to e.g. air and water, waste generation and resource consumption) which are associated with a product from the extraction of raw materials through production and use to final disposal, including recycling, reuse, and energy recovery. 
• Life Cycle Impact Assessment is the estimation of indicators of the environmental pressures associated with the environmental interventions attributable to the life-cycle of a product. 
  

The indicators of environmental pressure are: 

• Climate change (a.k.a., global warming or carbon footprint)—A measure of greenhouse gas emissions, such as CO2 and methane. These emissions are causing an increase in the Earth’s absorption of radiation emitted by the sun, increasing the greenhouse effect. This can in turn have adverse impacts on ecosystem health, human health and material welfare. 
• Eutrophication (a.k.a., overfertilization)—Eutrophication covers all potential impacts of excessively high levels of macronutrients, the most important of which include nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Nutrient enrichment can cause an undesirable shift in species composition and elevated biomass production in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems (e.g., potentially toxic algal blooms). In aquatic ecosystems, increased biomass production may lead to depressed oxygen levels because of the additional consumption of oxygen in biomass decomposition. 
• Acidification—A measure of emissions that cause acidifying effects to the environment. The acidification potential is a measure of a molecule’s capacity to increase the hydrogen ion (H+) concentration in the presence of water, thus decreasing the pH value (e.g., acid rain). Potential effects include fish mortality, forest decline and the deterioration of building materials. 
• Smog formation (a.k.a., photochemical ozone creation)—A measure of emissions of precursors that contribute to ground level smog formation (mainly ozone O3), produced by the reaction of VOC and carbon monoxide in the presence of nitrogen oxides under the influence of UV light. Ground level ozone can be detrimental to human health and ecosystems and may also damage crops. 
• Particulate matter (a.k.a., dust and aerosol emissions)—A measure of particulate matter emissions and precursors to secondary particulates, such as SO2 and NOx from sources like fossil fuel combustion, wood combustion and dust particles from roads and fields. Particulate matter causes negative human health effects, including respiratory illness and an increase in overall mortality rates.
• Ozone depletion—A measure of air emissions that contribute to the depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer (i.e., the ozone hole). Depletion of the ozone leads to higher levels of UVB ultraviolet rays reaching the Earth’s surface with detrimental effects on humans and plants.

The data used in LCA should be consistent and quality assured and reflects actual industrial process chains. Methodologies should reflect a best consensus based on current practice. 

The International Organization for Standardization provides guidelines and requirements for conducting a Life Cycle Assessment according to ISO 14040 and 14044. 
 

Look around you, find a plastic container nearby, and check the base or back. You will most likely find a symbol with some arrows forming a triangle and a number inside or some letters below it. It is the so-called Möbius Strip, that is the Resin Identification Code (RIC) that indicates the different types of plastic.
Why is it important to know what kind of plastic a package is made of? To make more sustainable decisions when you shop and to properly recycle plastic.

No. 1 or PET / PETE: polyethylene terephthalate
Physical Properties: lightweight, transparent plastic with low risk of leaching.
Common products: bottles for soft drinks, water and mouthwashes, plastic jars or clamshell packaging for fruit and other food products.
Recycling: extensively recycled.

No. 2 or HDPE / PE-HD: high density polyethylene
Physical properties: durable, opaque plastic with low risk of leaching.
Common products: bottles for motor oil, shampoos, lotions, detergents and other household cleaning products, milk jugs, some postal envelopes and nets for agricultural products.
Recycling: extensively recycled.

No. 3 or PVC / V: polyvinyl chloride
Physical properties: rigid and very strong plastic with insulating properties.
Common products: transparent toothbrush packaging, home appliances and office electronics, pipes, windows, cables and clothing.
Recycling: not recycled.

No. 4 or LDPE / PE-LD: low density polyethylene or linear low density polyethylene
Physical properties: soft, very flexible and often thin plastic.
Common products: adhesive films, transparent wrappers for various foods (bread, carrots, grapes, etc.), various plastic bags (for freezers, for shopping, etc.) and measuring bottles (for sauces, toothpaste, etc.).
Recycling: rarely recycled.

No. 5 or PP: polypropylene
Physical properties: lightweight and strong plastic that can be subject to leaching.
Common products: medicine containers, baby bottles, yogurt and butter pots.
Recycling: rarely recycled.

No. 6 or PS: polystyrene
Physical Properties: transparent, hard and brittle plastic with the ability to expand.
Common products: disposable cutlery, tableware and razors; shavings and foam for packaging, such as egg boxes, take-out boxes, filling material for electronics packaging etc.
Recycling: not recycled.

No. 7 or O / (other): other types of plastics
Physical properties: This category includes all other plastics not listed above. They can have different hardness and wear resistance properties.
Common products: CDs and DVDs, glass lenses, tea bags, tights, stockings and other types of generic plastic.
Recycling: not recycled (unless otherwise indicated).

Recent years have seen two key trends with ecolabels. There is an explosion in the number of different ecolabelling programs across the world and across business sectors and secondly a proliferation of umbrella labeling programs. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has created standards for labeling practices within the ISO 14000 schema. ISO 14020 to 14025 series deals with environmental labels and declarations. ISO proposed three categories of environmental labels according to the aspects covered and the rigor required to award the seal: 

Type I (ISO 14024) is a voluntary multi-criteria ecolabel program assessed by an independent third party who considers the life cycle impacts of a product.  Awarded certification authorizes the use of environmental labels on products and indicates overall environmental preferability of a product within a product category. The awarding body may be either a governmental organization or a private non-commercial entity. (e.g. EU Ecolabel, Nordic Swan and Blue Angel)

Type II (ISO 14021) is a self-declared claim made by manufacturers or retailers without third-party auditing. Developed internally by companies claims can take the form of a declaration, a logo, or a commercial.

Type III (ISO/TR 14025) an environmental product declaration (EPD) consisting of quantified product information on the life cycle impacts. Instead of assessing or weighting the environmental performance of a product, this type of label only shows the objective data, facilitating product comparison among buyers.

Additionally, a different category called "Type I – like" is present in the literature, which represents environmental labels focused on just one environmental or social aspect. These labels have been launched by independent organizations. Type I-like or single issue labels can be based on a pass/fail criterion, for example setting a maximum level of energy consumption for electric appliances (like the Energy Star label) or guaranteeing a responsible management of the world forests (like the Forest Stewardship Council); other single issue labels assess the performance of the product on a range, for example grading its energy or water efficiency.

A

Abiotic Resource Depletion — The progressive depletion of non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels, metals and minerals.

Acidification — A change in the pH of the  ground or a body of water, caused primarily by emissions of polluting substances into the air, which in turn fall to the ground.
Soil that is subject to acidification loses its nutrients, causing serious damage to flora and fauna.

C

Carbon Footprint — A calculation that enables us to measure the quantity of greenhouse gases emitted during the entire lifecycle of a product. 
It is expressed in equivalent kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2).

E

EPD — An Environmental Product Declaration  (EPD) is a verified, recorded document which provides transparent information on the lifecycle and environmental impact of a product.

EPD Process — This certifies that a company has developed an internal procedure which enables it to independently issue an EPD.

Eutrophication — Excessive growth of aquatic plant species due to excessive amounts of nutritional substances such as nitrogen, phosphorous and sulphur, causing changes to   the ecosystem.

F

FSC — The FSC® brand identifies products containing wood from forests that have been responsibly managed in accordance with stringent environmental, social and economic standards.

G

Geca (Good Environment Choice Australia)  — A certification for products which comply with the initiative’s requirements across the environmental, quality and social issues.

Global Warming — An increase in the temperature of the Earth, caused by increased levels of gases in the atmosphere which trap infrared radiation emitted by the surface of the Earth and the atmosphere.

Greenguard — Certifies products that comply with set emissions limits required to guarantee the quality of air in inside spaces.

I

ISO 14001 — An international standard setting  out requirements for an environmental management system. This certification shows  that a company monitors its environmental impacts and strives for constant improvement. 

ISO 14040-44 — The international standards for the LCA. ISO 14040 sets out the principles and framework of the LCA, while ISO 14044 provides a detailed description of how the analysis works.

L

LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) — A tool used to analyse the environmental implications of a product throughout all the phases of its lifecycle, from the extraction of the raw materials through to processing, production, use and end of life (“cradle to grave”). 

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) — A building certification system which allocates credits based on different parameters and assigns a different level of certification based on the credits obtained.

M

Recyclable Material — A material that can be diverted from the flow of waste, collected and processed in order to be used again as a raw material.

P

Photochemical Oxidation — A type of pollution which occurs on very sunny days, when the ultraviolet light present in sunlight triggers photochemical reactions which turn nitrogen oxide (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) into substances that can be very harmful to human health, the environment and crops. 

Post-industrial Recyclable Material —  A material that is diverted from the flow of  waste during an industrial process. This does  not include re-processed, re-ground or surplus materials which can be recovered during the  same process by which they were generated.

R

Reduction of the Ozone Layer — The chlorine contained in chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) tends  to reacts with the ozone present at the highest layers of the atmosphere (ozonesphere), breaking it up and freeing molecular oxygen. This is a significant problem because the ozone layer serves as a filter against ultraviolet radiation.

S

SDGs — 17 universal, interconnected goals which make up the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. The SDGs represent a global action plan encompassing 169 targets designed to eradicate poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all.

Sustainable Development — According to “Our Common Future”, also known as the Brundtland Report, sustainable development “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

W

Water Scarcity Footprint — This analyses available water remaining per unit of surface after human and aquatic ecosystem demands have been met. It therefore measures the potential for water to run out.